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The aim of this paper is to provide a historical overview of tourism development in the Hot Lakes District, New Zealand c. 1900.

The paper comprises primary archival research utilising a number of sources including government records, early newspapers, archived personal recollections, guide‐books and Native Land Court records. Secondary sources include the existing written histories of the region as well as contextual literature regarding tourism, colonisation and indigenous agency.

In a remote, isolated region of the central North Island of New Zealand, missionaries and local Māori started to provide accommodation for visitors during the 1850s. These visitors were staying overnight so they could view the Pink and White Terraces. The European ideology regarding the aesthetics of landscape helped transform the region into a “wonderland” for British sensibilities, and alongside this aesthetic ideology came a commercial/economic ethic that also transformed the region. This commercial ethic was adopted with acumen by local Māori who provided the required services as well as constructing European‐style hotels at Te Wairoa in the 1870s.

The paper provides a historical context for the development of tourism in the region through an exploration of the provision of service‐based products by local Māori. Examining the indigenous response to the demands of tourism has been sparsely examined in New Zealand history or in tourism/hospitality literature.

Just prior to the recent millennial transition, The Observer polled a cross‐section of British celebrities about their perceptions of paradise. Most of these were suitably vague – perpetual joy, renewed relationships, blissful state of mind etc. – but the anarchic comedian Mark Thomas archly described Heaven as “smelling of bananas”. Off‐hand possibly, flippant undoubtedly, yet Thomas’s remark is strikingly apt, since bananas are the original “forbidden fruit” of the Garden of Eden. Apples are mere interlopers, latter‐day arrivistes that have prospered thanks to the spin‐doctoring tactics of the wily Serpent. This paper, therefore, aims to set the record straight by telling a tall banana tale and explaining how bananamarketing is the future of our field.

Emphasizes the need to evaluate European Union membership within a broad framework rather than focusing solely on the benefits associated with trading with our partner countries. Suggests also how such frameworks could be used with respect to the future challenges presented for Britain from continued membership of the European Union. Examines in addition the extent to which the proposed losses associated with continued membership are justified. Indicates key attributes which should be borne in mind, especially during times of crisis within the European Union.